USPS: Misunderstanding led to residents not getting mail

Sarah Taylor looks at the mailboxes that sit empty at Lake Ridge Commons.

WIMLINGTON, NC (WECT) – People living in Lake Ridge Commons can't get enough of the newly opened apartment complex for senior citizens. Some of them moved in a month ago, but still don't feel settled in because they have no mail.

"I'm a product of the 60s," said Ann Taylor. "I even thought about protesting."

Instead she contacted WECT.com to find out what was taking so long for her mail. Taylor moved in a month ago, and all she knew was that her mail didn't follow her move into the building.

Lake Ridge Commons is ADA compliant and the mailboxes are built to HUD standards, according to Carlisle Development Group. The company broke ground on the facility less than a year ago. The design for the mailboxes were approved by USPS, according to Development Manager Melissa Brillhart.

Brillhart said the company was later contacted with information that the mail was not being delivered because some of the boxes were too low. That caused delivery to the entire complex to cease.

"I'm up in years," said Sarah Sawyer, "and it's very much an inconvenience."

The inconvenience comes in Sawyer's daily trip to the nearby post office. She said paying her bills has grown more difficult, because she handles everything through the mail.

Taylor said she's grateful to be able to move around on her own, but she worries about her neighbors who may not be as mobile or have family to help with the situation.

"It's a hardship," she said. "There's a lot of seniors that get their medicine by mail, so that could create another problem."

The Wilmington area Post Master is out for the holiday, but Brillhart said the two have come to an agreement.

UPDATE: A regional spokesperson explained Thursday that the situation was a misunderstanding. Monica Robbs said the USPS approved a plan for parcel pickup, but not for all the mailboxes. She added that the concern of the mail carrier was for the residents, not himself. The mailman worried that some senior citizens would not be able to reach the lowest boxes.

She said the postal carrier noticed the lowest boxes would be a concern and immediately notified management and his supervisor.